I Want To Be Your Hero
by funbiee
Summary: Giving help when it's not asked for is the mark of a true hero. Or so Midoriya tells himself as he completely violates the privacy of his friend by reading his journal. This time maybe he can break Todoroki out of his shell, or maybe he'll just fail miserably, but he has to try. TodoxDeku. This fic starts past the anime through the summer camp arc and has spoilers from the manga.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! My name is funbiee and it's good to meet you. This is my first published fic, so leave a note and let me know how I can improve or if you like the story.**

 **SPOILER ALERT!**

 **This fic starts *after* the summer camp arc and talks about Bakugo's kidnapping, All for One, and the villains' attack on the camp. Nothing after manga chapter 90 is mentioned. Thank you.**

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It was pretty late in the morning when Midoriya finally awoke from slumber. He was confused at first, but then he turned over and found that his alarm clock had been unplugged. Normally, this would be pretty unusual, but the suppressed sobs coming from downstairs told him another story. This had been the last night that he would spend at home for a few months, and his mother wasn't handling it well. Usually, if he was running late in the morning she would wake him and send him to school, but after the incident during summer break she absolutely hated watching him go out the door every morning.

Midoriya rolled out of bed, glancing at the scars that now peppered his arms. He knew his mom had seen them when he'd been in the hospital, but he took extra care to wear long sleeves around her now. He knew the sight of them pained her, but he couldn't do much about it either. He had a duty to All Might, and to UA, and to his fellow students… he just wished his poor mom's mental health didn't have to be an unfortunate side effect of his newfound power.

He shrugged on his school uniform and glanced over at his packed bag. After the villains' attack on summer camp and Kacchan's kidnapping, the school had decided that the best way to keep students safe would be to have them live on campus in dormitories. Deep down, Midoriya was relieved. If he truly was one of Shigaraki's targets, hopefully if he were to attack, it would be at his dorm now, rather than at home, and his mother would be safe. In addition to the dormitory arrangement, UA had made an agreement with police departments around the country to have occasional patrols check up on the parents of UA students.

His packed bag was pretty light. He had decided only to take some clothes, personal care necessities, a few books, and some light exercise equipment. He felt that if he left most of his personal effects behind that it would relax his mother. His stuff would be a personal reminder that he'd be back again after school let out.

He grabbed his bag and made his way downstairs. He heard his mother's sobs stop as she quickly set a place for him at the table. "Good morning," he greeted her shyly as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Izuku," she responded, eyes rimmed with red.

Midoriya smiled weakly and looked down at the breakfast his mother made him. He had to struggle to hold in a laugh as he glanced at the plate – he hadn't seen this much food since he was training with All Might to inherit his quirk! He had relaxed a small amount on his training since then and his mom had started to cook him regular-sized portions, but not today.

"I thought you could use a good meal for your last one here," she sobbed, pulling him into her arms. "Please, Izuku," she held him tightly, "do you have to go back there? Can't you go to a normal high school?"

Midoriya bit back tears. How could he do this to her? "Mom, I have to go back," he struggled, "All Might is depending on me. Everyone is depending on me." He silently wished he could tell her more. He wished he could tell her everything.

"I know," she cried, letting him go. "That's my hero, Izuku." She pulled out a chair and gestured for him to sit down and eat. Once he did she left to the kitchen to go cry some more.

She came back ten minutes later, eyes still very red and tired. "Izuku, it's getting late. You should probably get going," she suggested, holding back more tears.

"I know," he replied, getting up from his chair and grabbing his bag. However, before he could get to the door his mom ran over and scooped him up into her arms.

"You come back now, Izuku. I want to see you every weekend and break, you hear?" She hugged him tight and he patted her back. "I can't keep crying and passing out like this."

"I will, mom," Midoriya responded, holding her tight. "I promise."

After he finally left home, the way to school was pretty uneventful. The strangers on the train had stopped pestering him so much since the attack on the summer camp, and he wasn't sure if it was out of respect or fear. The stares persisted, however, but those had become so common it was difficult to really be bothered by them. Many people had started to doubt UA, and heroes in general. Unfortunately, it was a time ripe for villainy to thrive.

He was only within about two blocks of the school when someone grabbed his arm. He instinctively pulled away and raised an arm in defense, still hypervigilant from the attacks. When he turned he saw a small woman, clearly frightened by his response.

"Sorry, it's just I saw the uniform and I thought…" the woman paused, holding something out to him. It was a small brown notebook, with the letters "UA" neatly inscribed on the corner. Her face seemed worried, taken back by his aggressive response. "I thought it might be yours." She pushed the notebook into his hands and quickly walked away.

It took Midoriya a minute for it all to register inside his head. After the day at the mall, and then the attack at summer camp, he hadn't truly been able to relax. The air felt charged somehow, like an attack was imminent or that All for One could show his nasty face at any moment. He exhaled and glanced down at the notebook in his hands.

It was relatively unassuming, but it definitely wasn't his. In fact, he hadn't ever seen one like it before. He turned it over in his hands multiple times looking for some sort of clue as to who the owner could be, but there was nothing other than the small "UA" carved into the corner. He shrugged, and figured that the only way to return it to the owner would be to find out who the owner was by examining its contents.

 _April 1_

 _I'll be starting school soon for the first time at UA. I'm afraid making friends will be tough, since I don't know how to interact with others. Maybe it's for the best. Friends will cloud my goals and slow me down._

 _In the mean time, he's gone on another business trip. I suppose that's good._

Midoriya quickly shut the cover and put the book in his bag. It wasn't just someone's school notes – _it was a personal diary_. And worse, if he returned it to the right person they would know he had read it. Still, he couldn't help but wonder who the book belonged to. He didn't recognize the handwriting, but it wasn't like he had an extensive list of people's handwriting memorized either, so that wouldn't be much help.

The person sounded sad in the entry. The handwriting looked dejected somehow, but Midoriya didn't quite understand how he knew that. The author was brusque, cold, and alone – someone who definitely wouldn't want their private thoughts read. Midoriya decided it would probably be best to dispose of the journal so that no one else could read it, or maybe leave it anonymously at the school's lost and found.

Midoriya made his way towards the front of the building, where a neat and orderly line had formed at the direction of Iida. Midoriya smiled – that was his class representative, being very typical Iida.

"Deku-kun!" He heard a cute voice call to him from the line, "I saved a spot for you!"

Midoriya glanced up to see Uraraka waving to him. He then looked at Iida to see if it was okay for him to cut in line and Iida nodded slightly. "Hello Ochaco," Midoriya smiled, "How are you?"

"I'm doing great," she smiled at him in her typical warm smile, "did you know the school is covering our living costs? It will be such a relief for my family."

Midoriya smiled, feeling the weight of his own ignorance setting in. Of course this would be good for Uraraka, how could he be so short sighted? He knew her family didn't live in the area, which must have meant that she had some sort of living arrangements here that they probably had to pay for. "Yeah, it's pretty great," he replied, "do you know how any of it is going to be set up?"

"Well I heard Cementoss was able to construct a basic building pretty quickly, but the floorplans are all pretty uniform and like military barracks." She smiled, motioning to some large buildings that were new on campus. "As a result, I've heard that there are actually some space difficulties."

"Space difficulties?" Midoriya asked as they approached a counter with a friendly looking member of UA's faculty.

"Yes, unfortunately," the faculty member interjected, "on the floor where we have Class 1A's dorm rooms, there's such a discrepancy in the male to female ratio there aren't quite enough rooms for the male students. Izuku Midoriya, right?" She looked up at him over her stack of papers.

"Y-yeah, that's me," Midoriya replied nervously.

"Here's your new campus I.D.," she handed him a small plastic card with an unfortunate photo of him and a microchip embedded in it. "Don't lose it – it's your access to all buildings, and your room on campus. This," she handed him a red folder with a handful of papers stuffed inside, "is your room assignment and school information packet. Unfortunately, we drew lots and your name was chosen to have a roommate."

"Roommate?" When the staff pitched the idea for a boarding school, everyone was told that they would receive individual rooms of their own on a floor with only their classmates. Girls on one side and boys on the other.

"Yes, unfortunately until we can remodel the floor and convert four of the girls' rooms into additional male dormitories, we have a sharing situation. It will be resolved as soon as possible." The teacher reassured, and then handed Uraraka her I.D. as well as a folder.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that," Uraraka consoled, "but hopefully the dorms on the girls' side will be renovated soon enough!" She cheered, walking with him towards their new living arrangements.

They had nearly made it to their dormitory building when they heard a loud explosion come from the crowd. Midoriya immediately felt One for All creep up his spine as he prepared to launch himself into action, when he felt a cold hand touch his arm.

"Me too," he turned to see Todoroki next to him, looking at him with understanding eyes. "But I think it's just Bakugo."

Midoriya relaxed when he heard angry shouts from the crowd. "Just Kacchan," he exhaled, feeling One for All leave his body and his muscles relax. "Wonder what made him so mad? It's our first day back."

"I heard he drew lots for a roommate," Todoroki responded and Midoriya felt the color leave his face.

"I did too. Do you think-" Midoriya was interrupted as Todoroki raised a hand.

"Me too, and I think eight of us total did. I think your chances of rooming with Bakugo are pretty slim. I wouldn't worry. That would be an unmistakable oversight by the administration."

Midoriya relaxed. Todoroki was probably right, the administration wouldn't do something as foolish as to make Kacchan share a room with him. At least they wouldn't if they wanted the building still left standing. Midoriya turned back to Uraraka and the two entered the building to check out their new homes.

"They put us on the twenty-second floor?" Midoriya asked as Uraraka and he ascended yet another flight of stairs.

"Yeah, that's what the folder says. It is the top floor though, so in a way it's cool because we get the penthouse!"

Midoriya laughed. Uraraka always had a cheerful way of spinning things for the best. They had both opted for the stairs over the elevator as it was moving day, and unfortunately the elevator had become pretty busy with all the students bringing their things. Both Uraraka and Midoriya had packed light, so it didn't really feel like the elevator would have been much use to them anyway.

"It's pretty funny," Midoriya commented as they rounded the final flight of stairs, "this is the first time that we've hung out since the mall, huh?" It was only for a moment, but Uraraka seemed to stop dead in her tracks, not saying anything. When he turned to look at her she quickly hid her face and went up the final flight stairs. _I hope I didn't say anything wrong,_ Midoriya wondered.

"Hey Deku-kun," Uraraka called from the top of the stairs, "look at this!"

Midoriya quickly climbed up the rest of the stairs and stared in awe at the dormitory. The door opened up to a large common room with a seating area, games, a television, and a small kitchenette. Each side of the common area led into a door with a small sign marked _Dormitory_ above it. The area was definitely cozy for twenty people, but UA had really gone all out into making the area comfortable for the students.

Currently, Kaminari, Kirishima, Ashido, and Sero were on one of the couches, playing a video game, and Sato and Yaoyorozu were in the kitchen preparing some kind of snack.

"Welcome to Chez Class 1-A!" Aoyama called from a corner of the room, sitting on a lounge. "Isn't it magnifique?"

"Yeah, this is actually really impressive," Midoriya remarked, looking around the room. "Are you all moved in already?"

"Yeah, Sero and I are roommates for the time being, so we got here together," Kaminari called from the couch.

"Yeah, and I'm with Tokoyami. He's still unpacking," Shoji added.

Midoriya swallowed, if Sero and Kaminari were roommates and Tokoyami and Shoji were roommates, that meant that there were only three other people he could be matched up with, and one of them was Kacchan. Right now, he had a third of a chance of being roommates with someone who couldn't stand to be near him.

"Hey Deku, are you by chance in room 22-08?" Kirishima called from the couch. "My room is set up for a roommate, but they haven't showed yet."

Midoriya quickly opened up his folder and rummaged through the papers. "No, it says my room is 22-10," Midoriya let out an exasperated sigh. His roommate was either Kacchan or Todoroki. Todoroki and his relationship had blossomed over the last few months, but Endeavor's intense desire to beat All Might and his own resemblance to All Might often put a subtle damper on their relationship.

"I'm going to go unpack," Uraraka chirped, walking towards the right side of the common room. She scanned her I.D. on the door panel and it opened, revealing a hall lined with doors, identical to the one on the left.

Midoriya began to walk to the door on the left when he heard an explosive voice from behind him. "Don't tell me that I have to room with the damned nerd!" Bakugo yelled out from behind him. "If I do, I'll kill you! Don't think anything has changed between us."

"Uh," Midoriya stumbled, quickly searching through his paperwork.

"What room are you in, Deku?" Bakugo barked, stomping towards him. "You better not say 22-08, or I'll kill you."

"You're with me Bakugo," Kirishima called from the common room. "And you're going to have a hell of a time blowing me up with my hardening."

Bakugo scoffed and pushed past Midoriya through the dormitory doors, making sure to hit him extra hard with his shoulder on the way through. "Thanks," Midoriya called to Kirishima, making his way to his new room.

When he got there he was surprised to find that Todoroki had already finished unpacking and was quietly sitting on his bed, reading a textbook.

"Hey," Todoroki called to him. "I took the bed over by the window, I hope you don't mind. I like the cold while I sleep."

Midoriya sighed with relief. _A surprisingly normal roommate thing._ Midoriya never thought that normal roommate things would give him cause for such relief. "Y-yeah, it's no problem. But what's this?" He asked, motioning to an incredibly large package on his bed.

"No idea, it was left for you not long after I got here." Todoroki replied, going back to his studying.

Midoriya sighed and set down his bag, glancing at the box. In a minute he knew it was from his mom as it was her handwriting on the address label. He quickly ripped open the box and opened the letter on top.

 _Izuku,_

 _Sorry to be bothering you so soon after you left, but I went up to your room and saw that you left these things. I thought that they would make your new dorm feel more like home._

 _I love you,_

 _Mom._

Midoriya looked down and let out a small shriek when he saw the All Might merch flowing out of the box. He quickly covered his mouth and tried to push the stuff back inside, but he had already attracted Todoroki's attention.

"What is it? Are you okay?" Todoroki asked, peering up at him over his textbook.

"Y-yeah, it's nothing, my mom j-just…" Midoriya tried to explain, pushing the items deeper into the box, but it was too late. Todoroki had already seen.

"I knew you were a fan of All Might, but I didn't know you liked him that much," Todoroki commented as the box burst open, covering Midoriya's bed with All Might merch.

"Yeah, I-I guess it's just stuff I-I've collected since I was a k-kid," Midoriya nervously laughed, pushing the action figures around the bed, hoping to distract himself from how embarrassed he was feeling.

"I never got to have those sorts of things. Action figures and stuff… it's pretty cool that you still have that stuff from when you were a kid." Todoroki commented, closing up his books and walking over to Midoriya's bed.

"Y-you never had an action figure?" Midoriya asked, shocked. He picked up an All Might figure and handed it to Todoroki.

"No, my dad, uh, he thought it would distract me from becoming the best." Todoroki smiled awkwardly, handing the figure back to Midoriya. "I wouldn't feel embarrassed about it. Especially since your mom took the time to make sure it got to you."

"Yeah, you're right. It's really nice of her." Midoriya conceded, placing the figures on his desk. She also sent an All Might comforter that he placed tenderly on his bed. Additionally, his volumes of _Hero Research for the Future_ were included, which he placed next to the figures on his desk. _Thanks, mom,_ he thought to himself, reminding himself to thank her when he saw her next.

"Hey," Midoriya called to Todoroki, who had resumed studying, "what's this?" He pointed to the other door in their room.

"Oh, it's called a powder room. I guess," Todoroki walked over, opening the door to reveal a small bathroom with only a toilet, sink, and mirror. "I think it's so we don't have to walk to the large bathroom at the end of the hall in the middle of the night."

"Oh, cool," Midoriya smiled. "UA is pretty fancy, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Todoroki replied. "I think I'm going to go to the common room and see how everyone's settled. You coming?" Todoroki asked, walking over to the door.

"Uh, yeah, but I'll come in a minute." Midoriya responded. Todoroki nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Midoriya sat on his bed and pulled his packed bag into his lap, glancing back at the door to make sure Todoroki had gone. _It's so crazy, living with all my classmates,_ Midoriya thought, pulling the notebook from this morning out of his bag. _I should probably go return this._ But, for some reason, instead of returning it Midoriya opened up the notebook again.

 _April 8_

 _School is coming along okay. I still haven't made any friends, but it's probably for the best. Many of the students seem to recognize each other from the entrance exam._

 _The campus is very pretty and the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Maybe mom can visit someday._

Midoriya closed the book again, feeling guilty for having read it again. It was such an invasion of privacy, but, for some reason he couldn't help himself. The author seemed so sad and alone. Midoriya wished he could help somehow. For now, he thought, maybe he would wait and hold onto the notebook a little while longer. He quietly hid the journal under his mattress and left to meet everyone in the common room.

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 **Thanks for reading - let me know how you like it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys,**

 **I don't know why I'm updating literally a day after publishing. I'd say normally you can expect updates a week apart, but who knows. I kind of have this story in my head and it's demanding to be written.**

 **SPOILER NOTICE:**

 **Anyway, this story now contains spoilers through Chapter 100 of the manga.**

 **Thanks! Enjoy.**

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Midoriya was pretty sure that this had been the week straight from hell. He loved hero training, he really did, but the teachers had been pressing the students very hard about procuring their provisional licenses, and the extra physical workload on top of his regular exercises were wearing his body thin. He exhaled loudly as he let his legs relax into the chair, absolutely exhausted after 40 minutes of isometric exercises.

"Something to add to the discussion, Midoriya?" Cementoss called at him from across the room. Midoriya shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had completely forgotten about his work in Modern Literature.

"N-no, sorry sensei," he replied quietly, staring straight down at his desk while avoiding the stares from his classmates.

After class Midoriya stayed after with Iida and Uraraka to clean up the room. "Midoriya, what happened in class today?" Iida asked him, concern lines peppering his face.

"Oh," Midoriya laughed nervously, "I've just been pushing myself hard lately and I'm a little tired is all."

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Midoriya," Iida chided, a serious look overcoming his face. "Proper training requires proper rest."

"He is right, Deku-kun," Uraraka chimed, smiling as she cleaned the blackboard. "Are you guys headed home this weekend?"

"Yes, I will be," Iida answered. "I'd like to spend the time with my brother."

Uraraka nodded. "And you, Deku-kun?"

Midoriya paused for a minute. In all honesty, he hadn't really thought about it. Obviously, he probably would, if only to comfort his mom. On the other hand, the two days off from school would give him valuable training time with All Might. It really had only been a week that he'd been away from home, and with the Symbol of Peace gone the amount of time before he had to face the League of Villains was quickly ticking away.

Both Iida and Uraraka were looking at him intently now. He laughed nonchalantly, "I should probably go home," he conceded, and for a second it looked like Uraraka's smile faltered. "But the extra training time on campus would be helpful," Midoriya added, and Iida nodded in agreement.

"What about you, Uraraka?" Iida asked, turning towards the girl.

"I lived in an apartment here in Musutafu before U.A. became a boarding school," Uraraka confessed. "My parents live far, so I will probably still be here." She turned away, the blackboard chalk neatly in a row. "It'll be pretty lonely here with everyone gone."

"I don't think you'll be all alone," Midoriya piped up, "I'm sure some people are staying behind for the weekend."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Deku-kun," Uraraka replied, "I'm going to head back to the dorms and see if anyone's staying behind." Uraraka waved goodbye to the two boys and headed toward the dorms.

"Midoriya," Iida whispered intensely. His tone and expression were filled with such strong integrity that it startled Midoriya. He hadn't seen Iida speak this way to him since he was going to thank Uraraka at the exams for saving him.

"Y-yeah?"

"Uraraka is a dear friend of ours and it would be completely out of the question to have her remain in the dormitories this weekend all by herself," Iida exclaimed. "I think she was trying to find a way to ask you if she could spend time with you, and I think it would be impertinent of you not to oblige."

Midoriya immediately felt heat filling his face. "N-no, I d-didn't mean it l-like that," he stuttered, feeling his heartrate increase. "You're right, Iida, I-I'll go talk to her right away!" Midoriya nodded, quickly darting from the room.

He made his way slowly to the dorm, trying to find a way to ask Uraraka if she would be willing to hang out with him. _Should I ask her to go to the park? Should we go to the mall? My house? If I ask her to go to my house would that be creepy? I don't want to come off as creepy, I mean I'm really not –_

"Midoriya?" A voice interjected, "Are you okay? You were doing that muttering thing again."

Midoriya quickly turned around to see Todoroki standing behind him, concern on his face. Midoriya immediately felt the heat return to his face as he raised his hands in front of him. "N-no, no, well, I mean, yes I am okay, I just didn't realize that I had been muttering aloud this entire time."

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt," Todoroki replied, turning away, a bag in his hand.

"Are you headed out for the weekend then?" Midoriya called after him.

"Yeah, on my days off I like to go visit someone…" Todoroki trailed off, turning back towards the gate. "Take care of yourself, Midoriya," he finished as he scanned his I.D. on the gate to leave.

"You too!" Midoriya called after him, turning around to head back to the dorm. If Todoroki is gone, then he will have the dorm completely to himself. _It really is the best time for some additional training,_ he thought as he opened the door to the dormitory's stairwell and began the ascent to Class 1-A's floor.

As Midoriya neared the top of the building, approaching Class 1-A's floor, he couldn't help but hear a playful voice in the common room. "Uraraka, am I right?" A voice that sounded like Ayoyama's cooed.

Midoriya opened the door to the common room to see Aoyama, relaxed on the couch and Uraraka standing in front of him, fists clenched and her back turned to the stairs.

"Hey guys, has most everyone left?" Midoriya calls, noticing Uraraka flinch.

"Oh yes, it's become quite an _intimate affair here,_ " Aoyama purred. "Wouldn't you say so, Uraraka?"

Uraraka doesn't respond and Midoriya, as per usual, doesn't really understand what Aoyama could be talking about. "Hey, Uraraka, I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together this weekend? You said that you don't really have any place to go and I thought that we could –" Midoriya started, feeling uncomfortable.

"No," Uraraka cut him off harshly. "I've got other things I've gotta do this weekend." She muttered something to Aoyama under her breath and quickly escaped to the girls' side of the dormitory without even bothering to turn to look at Midoriya.

"Poor Midoriya," Aoyama sang from the couch, "forever misunderstanding."

Midoriya shook his head and walked towards his room. In a way it was a relief that Uraraka was busy this weekend because he still wanted to see if he could fit in some training with All Might and still visit enough to make his mother happy. Once in his dorm, he quickly opened up his phone to text All Might.

 **Midoriya:** Are you available for any extra training this weekend?

Midoriya laid quietly on his bed, pressing his phone to his chest. He hoped that All Might would be up for a few rounds of training. The League of Villains was a growing pressure looming above his head. A responsibility that he had to live up to. He was beginning to sink into a pit of anxiety when a the vibrations from his phone hit his chest.

 **All Might:** No can do, Young Midoriya! I must meet with the teachers regarding official U.A. business, and you have already trained so heroically this week! Excellent training demands excellent rest! Please go and visit your kind mother this weekend!

Midoriya sighed, but this was to be expected of All Might. In order to get Midoriya's mom to agree to boarding school, All Might had promised that he would guide Midoriya on a new path, a safer path, and a path that was much different than the one he himself took. Part of that was making sure that Midoriya maintained healthy, normal relationships with his family and friends.

Midoriya was about to text his mom about coming home tonight when he heard a _plop_ underneath his bed. He rolled over and saw that the small, UA-inscribed notebook had fallen out from underneath his mattress. In the last week he hadn't looked at it a single time, and had even forgotten about it. Having the diary had begun to weigh a little more heavily on his conscience, and he especially didn't feel comfortable reading someone's intimate thoughts while Todoroki was in the same room as him. He picked it up off the floor and stared intently at the cover. It was begging him to read it. _Just one more entry,_ the diary whispered to him.

 _Still though, even if it's just me is it right for me to read it?_ Midoriya shook his head. His conscience was right, and there really was no use in keeping the diary around. All its presence did was make him want to read it, and it was probably better for him to avoid that temptation. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his hand and caused him to the drop the diary.

 **Mom:** Are you coming home this weekend? I'm making your favorite for dinner.

Midoriya smiled. Katsudon was always a treat, and he especially loved it when his mom made it for him. He opened the home screen to reply to her when he noticed that the diary had fallen to the ground. Worse yet, the front cover had popped open again and the third entry was in plain sight.

 _April 12_

 _Unfortunately, he's back from his trip and training resumed today. He was unimpressed with my performance in Aizawa Sensei's Quirk Apprehension Test. Training was brutal and maintaining normalcy in class will be difficult with the injuries._

Midoriya froze. That was the final entry on the first page, so if he didn't willfully open the diary, he wouldn't accidentally read any more notes. But, still, this diary belonged to one of Aizawa's students. This diary belonged to a member of Class 1-A. Midoriya felt his heart sink, reading over the entry again. Someone in his class felt alone, and felt the need to hide training injuries from everyone else. Someone in his class felt like they needed to suffer alone.

Midoriya quickly replied to his mom, letting her know that he would be home in a few hours. He grabbed his school backpack and quickly threw some clothes in it for tomorrow, and ran to the shared bathroom to grab his toothbrush. As he left the small bathroom, he noticed the journal sitting on his bed, next to the packed bag. In a split-second decision he decided to take the journal with him, fearing that if he left it in the dorm that Todoroki could potentially come back and that it might fall out of its hiding place again. Guilty of invading someone's privacy or not, Midoriya didn't feel like he should risk another person finding the diary.

Feeling the unbearable weight of his guilt, he rushed out of the dormitory so quickly that he didn't hear his classmates in the common area wish him a good weekend. In fact, he was running home so quickly that he didn't even realize he'd changed his course. In only a few minutes he found himself standing outside U.A.'s administrative office. The home of U.A.'s lost and found. Midoriya reached a hand towards his bookbag when he heard All Might's words ring in his head.

 _Midoriya,_ All Might had said to him after he lost his match against Todoroki in the Sports Festival. _Giving help that's not asked for is what makes a true hero._

 _How can I help when I don't know who to help?_ Midoriya wondered to himself, letting his hand fall from his bookbag, leaving the diary still tucked inside. For now, he decided, he would keep the diary.

When he walked through the entrance of his home he was immediately scooped into his mom's arms, and she held him tightly as she sobbed. "Oh Izuku," she cried, "I've missed you so much! I'm so happy that you're safe."

If Midoriya didn't feel guilty before about leaving for boarding school at U.A., he definitely felt guilty now. It hurt him to have to see his mom go through as much pain as she did for him to pursue his dream. This time, All Might had promised her though, would be different. All Might was sure that he would lead a different life than he himself did.

"Yeah," he chuckled, hugging his mom back, "All Might really made sure I came home this weekend to spend time here instead of training."

"I'm so glad, Izuku, please," she gestured toward the apartment's kitchen, "have some katsudon!"

Midoriya smiled and took a seat at the table. It was a relief to be back home and have normal conversation with his mother. She talked all about how much she watched the news, and how she had even received a call from Kota asking how he was doing. Midoriya was touched to know that the boy he saved still thought of him, and was relieved that his mom was finally coming around to the idea of him being a hero, albeit very slowly.

When it was time for bed his mom must have hugged him another fifteen times before she finally let him trot to brush his teeth and go to bed. It was weird being in his room without all of his All Might memorabilia, but he did appreciate having it at school in the dorm. It even seemed like Todoroki liked his All Might stuff too. Midoriya sighed and rolled over, staring at the small diary that he had placed on his bedside table. He felt silly for bringing it to bed with him, but he had grown a sort of attachment to the book. He decided against reading it and turned over again, hoping to get a good night's rest.

It took a long time for sleep to come, though, and when it did it was restless and difficult. It had been the first night in weeks that Midoriya hadn't gone to bed so exhausted that he passed out the second his head hit the pillow. This was the first night in weeks that he had had a moment to himself before bed, and it was clearly for the worse.

Collages of images filled his dreams. There was Tsuyu, with Shigaraki's hand reaching towards her face. And then there was Iida, paralyzed and unmoving as the Hero Killer Stain moved to kill him. Worse yet, images filled his brain of Uraraka's face as he felt Shigaraki's hand clamp down on his throat. There's All Might, fighting All for One while all he can do his hopelessly watch the news station, praying for All Might's safety. Images flood his mind of Tokoyami's helpless form captured by Mr. Compress, and then his dreams fill with images of Kacchan. There's Kacchan, small and helpless in the river. Then there's Kacchan being absorbed alive by the sludge villain, and then there's Kacchan being pulled into Kurogiri's warp field. Lastly, there's Kacchan being held by the League of Villains, and Midoriya is powerless to save him alone. Midoriya is always powerless alone to help his friends. Deep down he knew that relying on friends is essential to becoming a successful hero, but he couldn't forgive himself for causing his friends to risk their lives.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya calls out in his sleep, waking himself up in the process. He's covered in sweat and his covers have been kicked off the bed and onto the floor. His breathing is heavy and labored as he turns on the lamp on the bedside table. "It was just a dream," he whispers softly to himself, knowing that it's not true. Those were memories, not dreams.

Midoriya slowly felt the panic in his chest recede, but the overbearing weight on his shoulders didn't lift. _This is what One for All means,_ he thought to himself, _this is my responsibility to bear._ Midoriya sighed and glanced at the lamp, noticing the unopened diary next to it. He shrugged and grabbed the diary from the table, opening it up in his lap.

 _April 16_

 _Today the class went to USJ for a training exercise with the rescue hero, Thirteen. We were attacked by villains during the exercise and split up. Luckily, I managed without difficulty. Midoriya, who has a quirk that seems like All Might's, was the only one injured._

 _I didn't use his quirk against the villains. Just moms. He's relaxed his training for now. It is a welcome reprieve. I want to become a hero without ever using it to spite the bastard._

Midoriya closed the journal abruptly. This journal belonged to his roommate, Todoroki. He couldn't believe that he had had Todoroki's lost journal while _in the same room as him._ All week Todoroki's most personal thoughts had been sitting under his bed, only five feet away from the owner. It felt even worse now, and now he especially didn't know what to do. Had it been long enough that Todoroki had already checked the lost and found? He didn't even mention it being lost on moving day. Was it that private to him?

Midoriya mulled over it for a minute, resorting to his typical murmuring habits. If Todoroki hadn't even mentioned the diary to anyone, was he just hoping that it would be lost without ever being returned? Hopefully thrown away without ever being looked at? Midoriya thought about his classmates and Todoroki didn't seem particularly close to anyone. There wasn't a single person or group that he gravitated to and every time they had an exercise in class his pairing was always last minute.

Midoriya thought back to the first entry. _He said this was the first school he'd ever went to, and he didn't know how to interact with the others._ Midoriya also remembered moving day, _he told me he never really got to have any toys as a child._ Midoriya laid back on his bed and raised his cell phone.

 **Midoriya:** Hey Todoroki, do you think you'll be back at the dorms tomorrow?

Midoriya hit send without really thinking about it, but immediately checked the time. _Crap,_ he thought, looking at the time. It was almost four in the morning. He would look like an absolute lunatic texting this late. He hoped he didn't disturb Todoroki.

 **Todoroki:** No, I don't think I'll be back until Sunday evening. Is there something you need?

Midoriya was surprised by the quick response. It had only been a minute or two, and Todoroki didn't even question the time.

 **Midoriya:** No, sorry! Sorry for texting so late! I won't be back until Sunday evening either, I was just checking. Sorry!

Midoriya knew it was a lie, but if Todoroki figured he'd been gone all weekend, maybe there was a way for him to sneakily return his journal to him. He could leave it somewhere where Todoroki would find it on his way back to the dorms on Sunday, and then slip out before Todoroki saw him. That way it would look like he returned later and couldn't have been the culprit behind the returned journal.

Midoriya turned off his lamp and went back to sleep for the night. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he should help Todoroki somehow though. All Might's words weren't leaving his head. Sure, he had helped Todoroki become more comfortable with his left side, but the young hero still didn't seem _happy._ Maybe he could help that too, he thought, or maybe he was just being foolish.

The next morning was kind of a blur for Midoriya. His mom woke up early to make him more food, and even though he had no appetite, he didn't have the heart to not eat. So, instead, he stuffed himself so full of food that he thought he was going to get sick when his mom hugged him goodbye.

The journey back to U.A. was anxiety inducing. What if Todoroki returned early? He kept checking his phone for an update text from Todoroki, but it never came. What would he say if he ran into Uraraka? She did say that she would be busy this weekend, but Midoriya was still worried about how he would explain himself if she saw him.

Once on campus, Midoriya ran straight to the dorms, not stopping to think. His guilt about the diary grew with each step towards the building. What would Todoroki think if he found out Midoriya had had it for the last week? What would he say to him? Midoriya was feeling so ill from the guilt that he ran into the dorms without stopping in the common room.

"Deku-kun?" He heard a voice call out to him as he passed through the hall in the boys' dormitory, but he didn't stop. He entered the room and immediately sat down on the floor.

Mostly he was disappointed in himself for being an awful friend. Did Todoroki even consider him a friend? He would understand if he didn't. This whole time Midoriya hadn't even bothered to think that Todoroki might still be hurting even if he did use his left side now. However, regardless of his desire to help, an invasion of privacy was still incredibly wrong. He wasn't sure how he had been able to justify it before, even if his intentions had been sincere.

Midoriya sighed and placed the diary under his mattress, refusing to think about it as he laid on top of his All Might comforter. _When did things become so complicated,_ he thought to himself. He hadn't even known Class 1-A for a year and they'd already faced death multiple times together. He trusted Todoroki with his life, but he still knew surprisingly little about the hero. Midoriya ran his fingers through his curls, and after some time he dozed off.

Midoriya had been in the middle of another round of vicious nightmares when a loud noise awoke him. He turned his head to see Todoroki hunched over in the doorway, but the boy didn't seem to notice him. He had pushed the door open with enough force to wake Midoriya up, but Todoroki didn't look so good. His breathing was labored and his body was covered in a cold sweat. He quickly slammed the door shut behind him and sprinted into their shared bathroom. After a minute, Midoriya could only hear retching and panting coming from the closed bathroom door.

"Todoroki," Midoriya called out hesitantly, "are you okay?"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading guys, let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, isss mee!**

 **Back at you again with another update. Thank you all for your reviews, comments, criticisms, and support. It may be small but it really helps motivate and push me to write better. Really, I can't thank you enough. Thank you for improving this story with me.**

 **This chapter doesn't spoil anything new, so no spoiler ratings! Hooray!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

Midoriya stood awkwardly outside the bathroom door, listening to Todoroki empty his insides into their toilet. He fidgeted with his pajama bottoms, waiting for a response. Reluctantly, he knocked on the door, but the door must not have been shut all the way because when he knocked it opened inwards. "S-sorry," Midoriya started to apologize, but his words caught in his throat when he saw Todoroki.

"Todoroki," Midoriya pushed the door the rest of the way open and walked into the small restroom. "Are you okay?"

Todoroki's knuckles glistened white under the fluorescent lights as he gripped the bowl of the toilet, vomiting furiously. Frost had started to creep around the porcelain fixture, stretching up from his hands unto his arms and face. Midoriya touched a hand to his shoulder and recoiled immediately at the chill. He crouched down next to the boy, making sure to stay a good enough distance away to avoid being hit by Todoroki's spewing. Midoriya tentatively placed a hand on his friend's back, trying his best to comfort him.

"W-water," Todoroki choked out finally, between heaves. Midoriya nodded and quickly ran to the common room to fetch a glass of water for the frozen boy. When he returned he swiftly barged into the bathroom without knocking and noticed that Todoroki had taken off his shirt. The frost still hadn't subsided and was stretched across his shoulders and chest. Midoriya began to stammer out an apology when he noticed purple bruises covering Todoroki's chest, stomach, and shoulders as well as red burn marks that wrapped around his upper arms and stretched across his back. Before Midoriya could say anything about it, Todoroki quickly grabbed the water and drank it in one gulp.

"Hey slow down, if you drink too much –"

Todoroki immediately ran to the sink and threw up most of the water. "You'll get sick again," Midoriya sighed. "Hey, Todoroki, you're frosty…" Midoriya noticed his vomit-stained shirt on the floor. "If you don't warm up soon you'll hurt yourself." Todoroki didn't respond, and instead slumped on the floor next to the sink.

Midoriya ran into the bedroom and quickly grabbed his blanket off his bed. He also rummaged through the care packages his mom had sent and pulled out a small space heater. In the middle of summer he never thought that it would come in handy, at least not for awhile. He ran back into the bathroom and held out the blanket to Todoroki, who looked at him hesitantly. "If you don't warm up quickly, your skin could really get damaged," Midoriya stated, pushing the blanket into his hands. He also put the heater next to him and plugged it in, turning it on high.

"A space heater?" Midoriya swore he could hear a hint of a smile in Todoroki's tone. "When did you get one of those?"

Midoriya chuckled a little bit, turning away slightly to hide his embarrassment. "My mom, I told her about how you like it cold and she was worried that the dorms might be a little drafty." Midoriya sat down quietly across from Todoroki, and played with the drawstring on his pajama pants. He knew that this was an intimate moment and that Todoroki would probably prefer to be in private, but he felt the need to monitor the frost on the boy's skin, which had, thankfully, started to recede.

"Are you okay?" Midoriya finally gathered the courage to ask. "You're back early." He added, making a conscious effort not to bring up the injuries or the vomiting.

"I could ask you the same thing," Todoroki responded quickly, voice flat.

Midoriya let out a small, nervous chuckle. "I decided I would try and get a head start on my training for next week," Midoriya bluffed. "I'm sorry if you had planned to have the room alone."

Todoroki shook his head. "No, I didn't think I would be back tonight either," Todoroki sighed. "I'm sorry for waking you up… especially like this."

Midoriya shook his hands and smiled, "no, don't mention it. I wasn't …" Midoriya struggled. "I wasn't having very restful sleep," he added quietly.

"Are you going to see recovery girl tomorrow?" Midoriya asked, deciding that it was the most low-risk way to bring up his friend's injuries.

"No," Todoroki replied smoothly.

"But, aren't you … ? Won't you…" Midoriya stumbled over his words. "Won't it be difficult to train this week in class with those injuries?"

Todoroki shrugged, standing up and stepping out of the blanket, handing it back to Midoriya. Midoriya was relieved to see that the frost had subsided and that there was no lingering frostbite on his friend's skin. "They're just minor training injuries," Todoroki explained, walking out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. "It's nothing serious. I've been training like this since I was five."

Midoriya felt the color leave his face. He'd talked about training injuries in his diary before, and the struggle to not let them show during hero training lessons. Not to mention that he'd been undergoing this type of training for the last ten years. _His dad gave him those burns,_ Midoriya thought to himself, glancing at Todoroki as he looked for a new shirt. _They look like they hurt._ Todoroki found a shirt and began to put it on when Midoriya noticed him wince as the fabric grazed the burns on his skin.

"If you're not going to see recovery girl then you should put some burn ointment on those," Midoriya suggested, as he turned off the small heater and walked into the room. He dug out the first-aid kit his mom had sent with him and held it out to the injured boy. Todoroki turned around and glanced at him. Midoriya felt self-conscious as Todoroki stared at him blankly.

"There are a lot on my back," Todoroki stated flatly.

"D-do you need help?" Midoriya stammered, staring at the shirtless boy. Todoroki just nodded, and sat at the end of his bed quietly, his back to Midoriya. Midoriya quickly grabbed the first-aid kit and started running cold water in the bathroom. When he returned he sat behind Todoroki and clamped his mouth shut, suppressing a gasp. The fibers from Todoroki's last shirt had been burned into his pale skin. Several large burns stretched across his skin and Midoriya bit back tears. He grabbed the tweezers from the first aid kit and quickly tried to remove the clothing fibers from his friend's burns. Todoroki flinched, but didn't say anything.

"Do they still sting?" Midoriya whispered, not quite sure why he was being so quiet. Todoroki just nodded again, refusing to say anything.

"I'll be back in a minute," Midoriya called to Todoroki as he left the room, heading towards the common area. He wasn't sure that he would find what he needed, but was relieved when he opened the fridge to see a tomato in there. He didn't know who it belonged to, but he took it without a second thought and sliced it up.

"Okay, so this is w-weird," Midoriya mumbled to Todoroki as he walked back into their shared dorm. "But trust me." Todoroki didn't even bother to look at Midoriya, eyes still trained on the wall in front of him. Midoriya placed a small slice of tomato over the burn, holding it tightly against Todoroki's skin. The burned boy exhaled happily.

"What is that…? The stinging is almost immediately gone." Todoroki's muscles relaxed.

"It's, uh, t-tomato," Midoriya stammered, alternating between pulling fibers out of the wound and applying the red fruit. "My mom used to treat my burns like this when I was younger, Kacchan would give them to me a lot… it always made them feel better." Midoriya made quick work of the burns, making sure to use the tomato often to ease the pain. Once he had pulled all the fibers from the wounds, he went to the bathroom and wet a washcloth under the sink that had run cold. He turned off the sink and wrung out the washcloth.

He returned to Todoroki and quickly cooled the burns while gently wiping them clean. He took out the burn ointment and applied it liberally to Todoroki's injuries, trying his best to be gentle. "Midoriya," Todoroki broke the silence that had set in between them.

"Y-yeah?" Midoriya asked, tenderly applying the ointment to his friend's injuries.

"Why didn't you tell me to use my left side?" Todoroki asked quietly. "When I was cold just now. Why did you bring a blanket?"

Midoriya couldn't help but laugh. "I guess it's kind of s-silly. Bringing a blanket to a guy who can literally light himself on fire," Midoriya ceded, finally pulling out the gauze and began to lightly cover Todoroki's burns, protecting them from the abrasion of clothing. "I guess, I was worried that you maybe didn't want to… use it… and that's okay." He finished, tenderly covering the injuries. Todoroki stayed quiet and Midoriya made quick work of the bandaging. Once he had finished Todoroki quietly performed the same steps on the burns that he could reach himself.

"You should probably take some aspirin," Midoriya held out some pills to him. "Is your stomach still feeling sick?"

Todoroki grabbed the pills from his hand and thanked him. "No, my stomach is feeling fine. It was just a reaction from the training," Todoroki explained calmly. "Thank you, Midoriya," Todoroki paused, looking up at Midoriya for the first time since he had helped him with his injuries. "For everything," Todoroki's eyes were calmer now, and much of the pain and sadness that was there before had receded. They almost looked at ease.

"Yeah, anytime," Midoriya responded, quickly looking away to pack up the first-aid kit. For some reason, when Todoroki looked at him like that he couldn't help but look away. Todoroki was vulnerable and that made Midoriya uncomfortable because Todoroki was never vulnerable. He was always calm and composed - shut off from everyone else. "You should probably replace that gauze every day to prevent an infection."

Todoroki nodded in agreement and quickly got dressed. Midoriya bit back tears, silently wishing that there was more that he could do to help Todoroki out. Todoroki had been vulnerable with him, and Midoriya was so afraid of overstepping that he didn't say anything more. He laid in bed again for several hours before he was finally able to fall asleep again. This time, he was so exhausted from helping Todoroki that he was finally able to get a peaceful night's rest.

In the morning Todoroki had vanished from the dorms by the time Midoriya had woken up, and he didn't return all day. Midoriya spent his day practicing in the courtyard, training his body for the coming week. Aizawa-sensei told them that the Provisional Hero License exam would be next week and he needed to master Full Cowling by then if he had any hope of passing. That afternoon Uraraka found him outside and they had lunch together.

"Are you okay, Deku-kun?" She finally asked, putting her lunch down.

"Y-yeah, sorry, that was you yesterday, wasn't it? In the hall?" He felt a heat fill his cheeks as he remembered someone calling out to him in the hall yesterday, but he was too distraught at the time to have a conversation.

Uraraka laughed nervously. "Yeah, I saw you storm in and I was worried. I thought you were going to be gone all weekend."

Midoriya sighed. "I did too, speaking of which," Midoriya glanced up at her, "why were you in the boys' side of the dormitory?"

Uraraka's face immediately reddened. "I-I was just h-hanging out with some people who had stayed back is all," she shook her hands in front of her, trying to placate him, "we were just talking is all."

 _I thought almost everybody left for the weekend,_ Midoriya thought to himself, deciding not to press her on the issue. "Oh," Midoriya returned to eating, "well I hope you had a good weekend."

"Yeah, you too Deku-kun," Uraraka finished her lunch, standing up to throw away her trash. "Everyone should be back pretty soon, huh? We'll definitely need a good rest before Aizawa-sensei's intense training tomorrow." Midoriya nodded and the two of them headed back to the dormitories.

It wasn't long after lunch until most of the rest of Class 1-A returned to the dorms. Everyone shared their weekend activities and they spent the rest of the time until dinner in the common room. Midoriya, however, couldn't help but notice that Todoroki was missing. Dinner time came quickly, and Todoroki was still gone. He headed to the dining area with Iida and Uraraka, and they had started to notice how distracted he was.

"Earth to Midoriya," Iida waved at him, "you've hardly touched your dinner. If you don't intake the proper nutrients, your training will suffer." Iida informed him, pointing to his barely-touched dinner.

"Oh yeah," Midoriya pulled himself from his haze and began to eat.

"Are you okay, Deku-kun? You've been pretty distant all day," Uraraka noted.

"Y-yeah," Midoriya tore his eyes away from the empty table across from them. Normally Todoroki sat there, alone, but today he was gone. "I'm okay. I've just been tired is all."

Iida nodded, "then I think tonight I will, as class rep, enforce an earlier curfew upon everyone so that we can be at our best tomorrow. The Hero Provisional License exam is a test of our strength, and we will all need to perform our best!"

Uraraka and Midoriya nodded. Midoriya secretly wondered if anyone had noticed Todoroki's normal seat gone. Despite having the strongest quirk in the class, outside of exercises and lessons Todoroki went largely unnoticed. Unless there were girls from other classes around of course, because then Todoroki was always exceedingly popular.

After dinner the three headed back to the dorms and Uraraka and Iida both took some time to finish their assignments due for tomorrow. Midoriya headed back to his room, hoping to find Todoroki, but the boy still wasn't there. Midoriya sighed and laid on his bed, checking his phone. No messages. He groaned and reached under his bed to grab the journal he had hidden there once again. _Why is he so hard to read?_ Midoriya thought to himself. _I wish that he would talk to me. I wish that I could help him somehow._ Midoriya bit his lip and opened the journal. It was wrong – so wrong, but how else would he be able to understand his roommate? How else could he help him?

 _May 1_

 _I beat Midoriya in the sports festival… but I could only do it using my father's quirk. The look on his face afterward disgusted me. He wants to start training again, and this time he wants to train harder._

 _But I didn't use it for him. I didn't use it to become the number one hero and surpass All Might._

 _I used it because of something Midoriya said that resonated with me. He told me that it's my power. In the moment I forgot about Endeavor and All Might and the number one hero spot and I just remembered what she told me._

 _I can be any kind of hero that I want to be. I'm not bound by his blood._

 _I think I'm going to go visit her finally._

Midoriya felt is breathing catch in his throat. _Is this the person that he visits every weekend?_ He remembered the Sports Festival vividly. It was the time that All Might had told him that being a true here wasn't about winning and that sometimes being a hero is just giving help that's not asked for. _Is that what I'm doing now?_ Midoriya wondered quietly. _Or am I just doing this for myself? To ease the pain I feel every time I see Todoroki alone?_

His phone buzzed underneath him and he nearly threw the journal across the room in surprise. He quickly hid it back underneath his mattress and opened his phone's messaging service. It was Uraraka – she had finished her homework and was wondering if he wanted to spend time with her and Iida in the common room. Midoriya replied that he would be right there and left the room, double checking to make sure the journal was secure under his mattress this time.

Midoriya did his best to push thoughts of the journal and Todoroki out of his head and enjoy time with his friends. The rest of the night passed by uneventfully, and when Todoroki finally returned he quickly went to the dorm without really bothering to talk to anyone. Once it was time for curfew, which Iida enforced strictly at nine, everyone grumbled but agreed to retire to their rooms for the rest of the evening.

When Midoriya returned to the room he was surprised to find that Todoroki was shirtless, struggling to reach the gauze at his back. "T-Todoroki," Midoriya stuttered, "do you need help with that?"

"I didn't want to be a bother," Todoroki responded, his expression composed.

"It's really no bother," Midoriya replied gently, grabbing his first aid kit from under his bed. "Really, I'd be happy to." Todoroki nodded and sat at the end of Midoriya's bed, waiting patiently while the green-haired boy gently replaced the dressings. "Does it feel better today?" Midoriya asked, noticing the wounds had already begun to heal. He didn't mention the new burns that had appeared, but treated them anyway. Todoroki nodded, and thanked Midoriya for helping him again.

The rest of the week passed quickly. When Midoriya had matched up with Todoroki for sparring, he was careful to avoid the places where he knew Todoroki was burned. Every day at lunch Midoriya would watch as Todoroki sat alone, eating zaru soba. Same place, same meal, every day. During hero training, while everyone in class attempted to come up with special moves for the upcoming licensure exam, Todoroki would train alone, away from everyone else. Then, at night, they would go through the ritual of tending to Todoroki's injuries in complete silence.

Midoriya, who typically found himself feeling awkward in silence, had grown comfortable with Todoroki's distant personality. He no longer took his friend's silence personally, and he decided that the way that he was going to help Todoroki was to simply be there for him. When Todoroki was ready to talk, when he was ready to tell him about his vanishing act on weekends or about the injuries, Midoriya would be ready to listen.

"Hey, Todoroki," Midoriya finally broke the silence on the night before the licensure exam. Todoroki didn't respond, but turned his head attentively toward Midoriya.

"Let's do our best tomorrow. Let's pass the exam together!" Midoriya encouraged, smiling. "I want to be a pro hero with you."

Midoriya felt Todoroki's skin warm underneath his hands and his friend stood up, pulling away from Midoriya, and electing to finish the bandaging by himself. "Yeah, let's win this thing," Todoroki smiled and Midoriya couldn't help but grin back. A smile from Todoroki was rare.

Midoriya went to bed peacefully that night. Tomorrow was a chance to prove to All Might, his classmates, his mom, and himself that he was ready. He was going to become a hero and he was going to live up to All Might's legacy. Right now, more than ever, he felt that it was do or die, and failure was not an option.

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 **This is a TodoDeku fanfic and I find it so difficult to express Todoroki's character. He's such an _internal_ character that what he presents on the outside is minor compared to the amount of thinking in his head. Let me know if you see any errors in characterization and I'll do my best to improve. I also have Chapter 4 nearly done, so you can expect another update soon.**

 **As always, to quote All Might,**

 **Thank you for your continued support!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ayy, it's me. Coming at you, hot off the press.**

 **** I changed the title and bio for this story this past week, I apologize if that threw you through a loop! ****

 **Anyway, it's a long one this week. I debated splitting it up over two chapters, but it just wasn't quite long enough for two.**

 **Also, this new chapter does contain source material through Chapter 116 of the manga. If you haven't read it, you should. It's lit.**

 **Thanks for your follows & appreciation this past week as well, it means a lot.**

* * *

The next morning the entire class was still sleepy when they boarded the bus to head to the Provisional Hero License Exam site. Pretty much every student in class was feeling anxious as Aizawa quickly herded them onto the bus. "It'll be a long drive," he droned, "let's get moving."

The bus ride to the exam site was relatively uneventful. Aizawa occasionally offered up some conversation or advice, but most everyone was too nervous or focused to participate. Bakugo wore his typically annoyed expression, constantly muttering about how he would knock the exam out of the park and be the number one hero. When the bus finally arrived at the exam site, everyone was anxiously awaiting the start of the exam.

"You'll want to change into your hero costumes quickly," Aizawa called to the students as they got off the bus. "The exam will be starting shortly."

Everyone nodded and exclaimed as they left the bus, surprised at the amount of people who had gathered for the exam. It wasn't long until some groups of students approached them. Some were wearing simple uniforms while others donned impressive hats and long coats. "It's the students of U.A.!" The groups exclaimed, running over to them. They quickly introduced themselves as the students of Shiketsu, the other prodigious hero school from the West that rivaled U.A. in the East, while the plainly uniformed students explained that they were from Ketsubutsu, and they seemed to hold a particularly strong sense of rivalry with the U.A. students.

Bakugo was quick to discount the students, Midoriya noticed. When one from Ketsubutsu complimented him, Bakugo immediately snapped back, claiming that student was being insincere with his kind regards. The rest of the class tried to apologize for Bakugo's behavior, but the Ketsubutsu students were equally apologetic for their classmate, who they explained often came across as condescending and insincere.

One student from Shiketsu, though, was especially excited to meet them. He was incredibly tall and excitable, gushing about his love for their school, and he even joined in when they chanted Plus Ultra. Most of the class responded kindly as Aizawa grabbed their attention. "That's Yoarashi-san. He's a top student," Aizawa informed, "in fact, he was the top scorer for U.A.'s entrance exam."

Everyone in class gasped. "If he loves U.A. so much, why would he decline admission?" Ashido wondered aloud.

"If he was the top scorer, wouldn't that make him stronger than Todoroki?" Tsuyu commented. Midoriya stole a glance at Todoroki, checking to see his reaction, but Todoroki was stone-faced as usual.

"Whatever, I'm going to smash all these _Shit-etsu_ losers and show them what extras they really are!" Bakugo fumed, storming away to change. The rest of the class apologized for Bakugo once again, before departing towards the examination area.

"It really is amazing, huh?" Kaminari commented to Jiro, "We're so famous from the sports festival! It's like everyone knows us!" Jiro nodded in agreement.

"So, you didn't tell them?" Midoriya overheard the teacher from Ketsubutsu comment to Aizawa.

"They'll need to handle much more than this as heroes," Aizawa responded flatly. Midoriya shrugged the comments off and headed inside to be with the rest of the class.

Once everyone had changed and gathered inside the examination area, the proctors made quick work of explaining the process. Each examinee would be made to wear three targets, placed wherever they wished, aside from hidden areas, such as the armpit. Additionally, they would each be granted six balls that they could use to throw at others' targets. The conditions for passing were simple: knock out two other opponents by taking out their targets with the balls provided.

"Oh, and this examination is a test of speed," the proctor continued, "only the first 100 examinees shall pass."

Murmurs of dissent quickly spread throughout the crowd. "This exam has over 1,500 applicants!" Someone called from the crowd. "Yeah," echoed another voice, "what happened to the fifty percent pass rate?"

"Yes, it's true that in the past we have generally allowed fifty percent of the applicants to pass," the examiner conceded. "However, in this age, it is more important now than it has ever been before that the heroes we pass today are able to handle the world that we now live in. It is vital now that the heroes we give licenses to are able to thrive in a world where the Symbol of Peace has retired."

Midoriya swallowed nervously. The seven percent pass rate didn't worry him so much as the intense need that he had to live up to the power of One for All and All Might's legacy. The examiners were correct to make the exam more difficult. He had faced the villains in the League and had permanently damaged his arms as a result. He had been forced to come up with a new way of adapting One for All just to survive. Although he had been practicing his One For All-enhanced kicks all week, he was still nervous about debuting his new shoot-style with such a high rate of failure. He clenched his fists and sent out a silent promise to All Might that he would do his best to succeed.

"All right, then," the proctor sighed after all the balls and targets had been distributed, "we shall begin the exam in one minute. Spread out!"

"Spread out?" Everyone in the room questioned, remarking at the small space around them.

"Yes, in just a moment here," the proctor explained. Slowly, the walls began to creak and all of the participants looked up to see the room gradually breaking apart. Moments later, the walls completely fell and opened up into a massive arena with several different environments, similar to USJ.

"I trust you all have environments that you're best suited to," the proctor remarked, "make sure to utilize that. You have one minute to spread out before the examination begins!"

"Everyone," Midoriya called out to his classmates, "in an environment with steep competition like this, there won't be any infighting between schools! We'll have to group together and build a strong defense! Let's group up and let's pass this exam together!" Most of his class nodded, standing close to him. Bakugo told him to screw himself and ran off, with Kirishima and Kaminari following, but Midoriya wasn't really surprised by that. He did, however, notice Todoroki run away from them.

"Todoroki!" Midoriya called after him.

"I'm going off alone," Todoroki called back, "In a group I won't be able to fully utilize my quirk!" Midoriya nodded but couldn't help but feel a little hurt. Todoroki was always running off alone.

"Forget him," Mineta called out to Midoriya, "we don't have much time! Let's group together!"

"I don't like it," Midoriya replied to Mineta, "we're at a disadvantage here. From the televised sports festival, everyone knows what our quirks are. Everyone knows what we can do." Midoriya and the group quickly began to run into the exam area together, trying to get away from the crowds.

"If everyone strategizes like us, this is going to quickly turn into a school on school battle," Midoriya explained, keeping tabs on his classmates around him, "and U.A. is the only one at a disadvantage. Not only do they know our quirks, but they know our weak points, too!"

The exam started and immediately hundreds of students were on top of them. Midoriya's group quickly assembled into a formation and blocked the incoming barrage of quirks and balls aimed at their targets. Midoriya gritted his teeth as he deflected a barrage of projectiles that had been thrown their way. "Everyone," he called to his classmates, "let's stick close and move together!"

The attacking students swiftly grouped together and Midoriya saw them exchanging balls. One of them grasped them in his hands and the balls appeared to turn to stone. Soon, they were gone. "I think they've gone underground!" Iida shouted from behind him.

"Don't worry, I've got this!" Jiro called, immediately smashing the ground from underneath them.

"They're still coming!" Mineta cried as the spheres burst through the ground and flew towards him.

"I've got you," Ashido reassured, immediately putting up a wall and deflecting all of them.

 _This is just the beginning,_ Midoriya thought to himself, quickly analyzing the offenders. _They're just trying to gauge us. The first ones to attack, throwing balls without a strategy, will have a low rate of success. From here on out, the fight will only grow more intense as they figure out our weak points and how to attack us._

"The exam is heating up!" The announcer called over the system, "and zero people have passed thus far!"

Just then, the ground beneath them immediately started to vibrate and quake. Only a moment passed and the ground around them burst open, sending almost everyone in Class 1-A flying away from each other. Midoriya quickly attempted to reconvene with the others, but he was stuck all alone. Then, the wind picked up, throwing the balls into the air around everyone.

"Hello," Midoriya heard a voice call from above, "please let me join in this wondrous battle!" Soon after, the balls cascaded from the sky, flying down at the examinees. Yoarashi, the boy Aizawa had warned them about, stood tall and proud from atop a building as he commanded the winds.

"Woah!" the announcer called over the loudspeaker. "One contestant has passed and a whopping 120 examinees are now out!"

 _It's amazing,_ Midoriya thought to himself, _one person took out 120 examinees. Not only that, but these other examinees all have a strong grasp of teamwork and their own quirks that easily surpasses ours. It's amazing what a year of training can do!_ Midoriya got up, preparing to reconnect with the others, when out of nowhere a girl from Shiketsu came down and hit one of his targets.

"Not the smartest move to get lost in thought in the thick of battle!" She called out to him, jumping over his head. Midoriya was dumbfounded. _I can't believe she got me right in front of my face!_

The girl immediately began to chat with him, claiming to want to exchange words and learn more about the prestigious U.A., but Midoriya was careful. He knew that now was not the time for leisurely conversations, and in a fraction of a moment, she was in front of him again, launching an attack. He quickly dodged, but she had gotten to close for comfort. Quickly, he grabbed one of his throwing balls to counter, but she was gone. It seemed that every time he took his eyes off her she vanished. _Does she have a vanishing quirk?_

"This is my technique," she was behind him again. "I divert the attention of my opponent and lie lurking in wait, hiding. I erase my presence." She was suddenly on top of him, holding him down.

"Is that something that you can learn at Shiketsu?" Midoriya huffed, struggling against her.

"You can't think of it as training," She answered. "But could it be… that we both want to know more about each other?" She chimed playfully. "Then answer me this: why do you want to become a hero?"

"Is it for renown?" She purred in his ear. "For pride? Money? For someone else's sake?" The ground started to quake again, and she pushed herself further into him. Something about her absolutely terrified him. "Tell me. I want to know so much more about you."

The ground gave way from underneath him and he quickly dashed away from the girl. The Ketsubutsu students had caught up to him and he was still separated from the rest of the group. _Shit,_ he thought to himself, _this is the worst-case scenario. I'm being targeted by a whole group and I haven't been able to reconnect with anyone!_

"Don't worry," a voice called out to him, "I'm here!" He turned to see Uraraka coming towards him, her hand outstretched.

 _Does she have a plan?_ Midoriya thought to himself, reaching for her. _Why would she reveal herself to the enemy?_ In a second the enemy capitalized on her mistake, sending her flying into the air, falling. Midoriya lurched after her, attempting to catch her and save her. Maybe if he had trained his legs earlier then he would have been able to save Bakugo, too, and he couldn't help but think that if he had saved Bakugo, well, then maybe All Might would never have had to fight One For All and lose his powers.

Midoriya caught the girl gently in his arms and hurriedly kicked the ground with his iron soles to create a place of temporary shelter among the debris for himself and her. "I'm so sorry about that," she apologized, "that was such a huge mistake."

"I'm not really bothered by that," Midoriya replied, his back to her. "I'm more worried that you're someone from Shiketsu," he quickly turned around, smacking the ball from the girl's hands. He knew she was not Uraraka, even if she had taken her appearance.

"So, you knew," the girl's features began to melt away, turning back into her own. "Did you plan to capitalize on that?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead," Midoriya explained, "but Uraraka can float herself… and if you weren't Uraraka and you fell from that height, you could have hurt yourself."

"Tell me," the girl crawled towards him, her expression lethal, "tell me about yourself, I want to know!"

Midoriya flinched away, trying to distance himself from her. "So, you'll save anyone?" She asked, and Midoriya noticed that as her features melted and molded back into her own, her clothes began to disappear as well.

"Excuse me, your clothes!" He shouted as she lurched towards him. "Please, put something on!"

"Are there no limits to who you'll save?" She called as she jumped for his face, clawing at him. Midoriya just barely managed to pull himself away, but at the last moment, she gouged his cheek with her nails.

"Fifty-four examinees have passed!" The announcer called over. Midoriya was preparing to jump away from the crazy girl when suddenly tape flew out in front of him. He looked up to see Sero and Uraraka coming towards him. Uraraka sprang towards the girl, but her reaction was too quick, and she jumped away from Uraraka in time.

"What is this, Midoriya? A naked girl? I'm really jealous man!" Sero called out to him.

"Nice one! Thanks for helping me out!" Midoriya called back sincerely. He was relieved to have that girl away from him, finally.

"It's a shame," the girl called out to him as she dashed away, "it was just starting to get good between us."

"Hey, come back!" Sero called after the girl, beginning to chase her.

"Don't," Midoriya called to him, "when she shed her quirk-form she also lost her clothes and her targets! It's pointless to chase her," Midoriya explained, "speaking of which, you two are the real ones right?"

"Uh, yeah?" They responded.

"Fifty-eight examinees have passed!" The announcer's voice rang through again.

"Given the amount of time that we have, I don't think we should chase after her, but, of course, she could still come after us. For the time being, us three will have to work things out together," Midoriya clarified. "When we're being attacked like this, I don't think it would be a very good idea to throw our balls back at them."

"What?" Sero and Uraraka questioned. "How are we supposed to pass the exam then?"

"I think it would be wiser instead to have one of us manage defense and the others attempt to bind up and immobilize as many people as we can. Then, when everyone's immobilized, we'll simply touch their targets and pass quickly. If we try to attack by throwing balls, we could potentially miss and lose our chance of passing."

Uraraka nodded, but Sero remained questionable. "I'll be the decoy," Midoriya offered, "and you two immobilize the rest. Both of you have quirks that are great for stopping people."

"Got it," Uraraka beamed. "I believe in you, Deku, and you've got the track record to back you up!"

Midoriya quickly dashed out and used Full Cowl to dodge the flurry of attacks that the other students unleashed upon them. However, it was no use for them because Uraraka and Sero immediately capitalized on their carelessness and bound them to the rubble with tape. "I used Sero's tape and the rubble to trap them," Uraraka explained happily, "I had to eyeball it to make sure it wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Yeah, I said as many as we could get, but you guys sure went all out!" Midoriya praised, looking at the eight trapped examinees before them.

"Seventy-six examinees have passed!" The announcer called.

"We're running out of time," Sero commented. "Let's take them quick, before we're attacked again."

Midoriya, Sero, and Uraraka grabbed their balls and walked over to the other examinees. "Have mercy on us," the pleaded, "you're just freshmen, we actually need to pass this exam!"

"I do, too," Midoriya replied, thinking of All Might. _It's now or never,_ he thought to himself, _I need to live up to my duty as One for All's successor._

On their way back to the examination holding area, they heard a voice call out to them. "Hey, Sero, Uraraka, and Midoriya!" They turned to see Kaminari waving at them, accompanied by Bakugo and Kirishima. "So awesome that we all made it!" Uraraka and Sero cheered congratulations back.

"… so, you made it, Deku, you fuck." Bakugo seethed at Midoriya.

"Kacchan, I-I y-yeah," Midoriya stumbled, surprised by Bakugo's outburst. It had been a long time since Bakugo had directly called him out.

"I guess you would, with a power like that," Bakugo scoffed at him. Midoriya felt his words catch in his throat, unsure of a proper reply to that comment. "So," Bakugo lowered his voice so only Midoriya could hear him, "you've made that "borrowed power" … your own?"

 _Does he know?_ Midoriya felt his thoughts race as Bakugo stormed off. _How does he know? Did he tell someone? Did someone tell him?_

Midoriya's frantic thinking was interrupted by Yaoyorozu, who congratulated the group and exclaimed how happy she was that everyone had made it okay. There were eleven from Class 1-A back in the holding area, which meant that there were nine more to go. With eighteen spots remaining, Midoriya was starting to get a little nervous for his classmates, but he was relieved to see that at least Todoroki had already made it through the first round of the examination.

It wasn't long until the announcer called out that all 100 examinees had passed, and Midoriya waited anxiously by the door. Soon, everyone from Class 1-A walked into the room and they all celebrated. Everyone had made it through the first round of the Provisional Hero License Exam. The celebration was cut short, however, when the testing area began to rumble and quake. Soon, the buildings and test course crumbled under the weight of several explosions.

"This next exam will be the last," the announcer shouted, "you will be conducting rescue missions from a terrorist attack as bystanders!"

"There are several casualties on the field represented by employees of the Help Us Company, or H.U.C. for short. Your mission will be to extricate them from the environment safely. This test will be graded on points alone, and any who earn above the benchmark score will pass and be granted their hero license. The examination will start in ten minutes, so prepare while you can now!"

Once the examiner had finished explaining the exam, Midoriya was immediately surrounded by the boys. "Sero told us everything, you player!" Kaminari called out to him. "You totally hooked up with that Shiketsu girl over there!"

Midoriya waved his hands defensively. "No, it's not like that, she –"

The girl waved over and smiled and Midoriya. "You're so full of it! That's totally the kind of look a girl gives after you've just hooked up!" The boys boomed.

"No," Midoriya defended, "It was her quirk! I couldn't understand it at all, it was so scary!" The guys still didn't take his word for it, but they did let up a little on the chastising after Midoriya explained. Once everyone had reunited, the students from Shiketsu came over and apologized for their previous behavior, hoping to start a friendly relationship between the two schools. Midoriya noted that their intentions hadn't seemed friendly, and he noticed that Todoroki was talking to the student from Shiketsu who had drawn up the wind storm early in the exam, Yoarashi. The wind-user towered over Todoroki and his face was stony and cold. He was a completely different person from outside when he had greeted all the students of U.A. joyfully.

Yoarashi quickly departed from Todoroki, but the half-and-half quirk user stood still, staring at the Shiketsu student. "My dad's… eyes?" He questioned aloud to himself.

"Todoroki?" Midoriya called towards his friend, concerned. Todoroki had that same, sad look in his eyes again.

"See you," the girl from Shiketsu called over to Midoriya, interrupting his thoughts with her flirty tone. He turned to see that she was waving and smiling at him expectantly. _Something about her doesn't seem right to me,_ Midoriya thought.

"Yeah, sure," Midoriya responded half-heartedly, trying to quell the uneasiness that had settled in his stomach.

"What is that supposed to mean, Midoriya?" Kaminari howled at him. "You're such a ladies' man!"

"No, I swear that's not it. She's scary!" Midoriya defended. Yaoyorozu called out to them to watch themselves and be respectful during the exam.

"A terrorist attack has now unfolded," the announcer called out before Midoriya could explain the situation to Yaoyorozu, "your second exam begins now!"

Midoriya immediately shut out his thoughts and ran out with Class 1-A. They found some casualties right away, but, unfortunately, they immediately docked points for an awkward, insensitive response that he accidentally let slip. Midoriya swallowed nervously and thought of All Might. All Might was never awkward when he saved people. He immediately reassured them and always saved everyone. Midoriya resolved that that was the kind of hero he wanted to be, and changed his act. He encouraged the others to go on without him, and brought as many people as he could to the first aid station.

Midoriya flinched at points being docked left and right throughout the field. Yoarashi announced that he was the hero Stormwind, and he used winds to move debris and carry survivors to safety, but it was reckless and sloppy, so points were docked. From across the battlefield, he heard Bakugo scream at some victims, and he was sure Bakugo had lost points for that as well. Uraraka also lost points for attempting to lift rubble before stabilizing the surrounding area. Midoriya had made it to the first aid station when a loud explosion echoed over the field.

"It's another act of terror!" Everyone called out.

"Villains have appeared out of the woodwork! All would-be heroes on the scene, suppress the villains while carrying out rescue work!" The proctor announced to everyone on the field. Midoriya hurriedly reconvened with the others and they explained that Todoroki and Yoarashi were holding off the terrorists led by Gang Orca while the others continued the rescue mission.

"Got it!" Midoriya called, heading over to the scene of the attack, looking for a way to help. He could see large flashes of fire and wind, but the wind seemed poorly aimed and the fire quickly blew out. _They're not working together,_ Midoriya thought, using Full Cowl to accelerate his pace.

Midoriya had just arrived on the scene and found Todoroki and Yoarashi engaged in a shouting contest. In a quick move, they both unleashed a burst of fire and wind, but it was quickly thrown off course. The wind blew the fire in a different path and launched it towards one of the Ketsubutsu students Midoriya recognized form earlier. The student wasn't moving out of the way of the flames, and Midoriya realized that he had been immobilized by Gang Orca's supersonic waves not much earlier. He launched Full Cowl as fast as he could, pulling the other student from the flames just in time. "What the hell are you guys doing?" He shouted angrily at the two.

Todoroki stared at Midoriya and a wave of realization passed over his face. Gang Orca quickly immobilized Yoarashi with cement, while Todoroki stood dumbly until he got hit by a blast as well. Midoriya felt bad for not saving them, but he could only grab Shindou, the boy from Ketsubutsu in time. "They're coming," Midoriya shouted. _I've got to put up a fighting front here or everyone will be at risk!_

"Move," Shindou called from behind him, stepping forward and slamming the ground, sending everything into an earthquake. It was messy, but it stopped Gang Orca. "It's up to them now," Shindou nodded towards Todoroki and Yoarashi, who, although incapacitated, had started to try to work together.

"Shindou, I thought you were immobilized!" Midoriya exclaimed, helping the boy on his feet.

"Yeah, but all the rattling my head does all the time has made me pretty resilient," he smirked at Midoriya. "Thanks for grabbing me."

"Of course, I'll do my part now by rescuing more people!" Midoriya dashed off to focus on the rest of the survivors. _I hope Todoroki is okay,_ he thought to himself as he hurried away.

One of the villains had broken away from the group, and Midoriya launched a counter attack. Soon, he teamed up with Tsuyu and Ojiro who helped dispatch of the villain. "All of the people have been evacuated safely," Ojiro informed him. Midoriya nodded and turned around, noticing that Todoroki and Stormwind had managed to trap Gang Orca in a cage of wind and fire. _It's a good trap!_ Midoriya thought to himself, _I'm glad they're working together._ From across the battlefield though, he could hear Gang Orca squeal with delight.

"You're out of moves!" Gang Orca called, "And while this is a noble defense, it is not strong enough to stop me!" Gang Orca quickly broke from the cage of wind and flames and advanced towards Midoriya's friend.

 _I've got to save Todoroki,_ Midoriya thought to himself, _no matter the cost… I must save my friend!_

Midoriya charged in, pushing himself off the ground and charging towards the villain. "Please sir," he shouted over the noise of the battle, "back away from them!" He immediately launched a full kick into the villain, flying back towards the ground from the impact. He immediately wound up again, preparing to start another offensive attack towards Gang Orca when the announcer's voice crackled through the loudspeakers.

"Since all H.U.C.s have been evacuated, that brings this exam to a close," the announcer explained. "After we take the final tally, we shall present the results at this site. Please standby."

After the exam all the U.A. students gathered around and pondered their scores. "If we really did our best, there's absolutely no need to fret." Yaoyorozu stated, calming down the girls who had gathered around her. "We did everything we could."

The results were quick to come, and after the announcer explained the methods for subtracting points from their score, they released the names of those who had passed the exam on a large screen. Midoriya quickly scanned for his name and felt a wave of elation course through him when he saw it. Next, though, he couldn't help but look for Todoroki's name on the board, but it wasn't there.

Midoriya felt his heart sink for his friend. He turned towards him, but Todoroki had already turned away from the rest of the class. "Guess I really didn't make it, huh."

Midoriya reached out to comfort him, but Yoarashi walked over before he could. "Todoroki!" He called, and the boy turned to face him. "I'm sorry! It's my fault you failed! I was being so petty!"

Todoroki looked shocked by the outburst as the boy quickly slammed his body into the ground, groveling at Todoroki's feet. "Please stop," Todoroki said quietly. "I am reaping what I sowed, this is my responsibility too. You coming at me so directly led me to realize something, too."

The rest of the class slowly figured out that the only two who had failed the exam were Todoroki and Bakugo, which were two of the top students in the class. Few were surprised by Bakugo's failure, but it was a shock for most everyone that Todoroki had failed as well. The proctors quickly handed out examination scoresheets, which detailed where each participant lost points.

"And to those who failed," the announcer called, "it is now, more than ever, that we need great heroes in our society, and we would prefer not to waste such superior talent. As a result, we would instead like to nurture these budding heroes, and will offer a course designed to let those who failed today procure their licenses after additional education."

"Did you hear that, Todoroki?" Ashido called out to the icy hero. "You can still get your license!"

Todoroki smiled weakly at his classmates. "I guess that means that I'll catch up to you guys."

For most of the class, it was a good day. Everyone got their licenses distributed to them, and Midoriya was quick to send a picture to his mom and All Might. It was so wonderful to finally have proof of his growth as a hero, and that he was on the right path as All Might's successor. _I'll do it, All Might. I'll become a great hero like you._

They were preparing to leave when he noticed some of the Shiketsu students standing around, but the girl from earlier was nowhere to be seen. "Hey," he called over to them. "Sorry for interrupting, but I was wondering if you could tell me how you do that stealth thing you learn at Shiketsu? How you conceal your presence?"

"I'm sorry, but, I don't know what you're talking about." The student replied to him.

"That girl, the one with the full lips, she said you guys trained like that. Speaking of which, she said she wanted to talk to me more too…" Midoriya trailed off.

"I'm sorry, but, we really don't do any such training. And, you mean Kemii? She said that she wasn't feeling well, so she went home early… and, come to think of it, she's been acting really strange for about three days now."

"Oh," Midoriya replied quietly. "Thank you, anyway." The whole ride home Midoriya couldn't get that girl out of his head. She'd behaved so strangely towards him, wanting to get to know him, and she had such an unusual quirk. Deep down, she really frightened him. Not to mention the way that she had scratched his face and gazed at him with intense, bloodthirsty eyes. Instinctively, he moved a hand to touch the place that she had wounded him, but for the most part it had already started to heal.

 _I wonder if I'll see her again._ In a way, he really hoped that he wouldn't.

Once they had gotten back to the dormitory, Bakugo was quick to pull him aside. "Meet me outside later," he growled. "It's about your quirk." Midoriya nodded and tried his best to conceal his fear.

 _Does he know about All Might?_

* * *

 **Is anyone else a huge All Might fan, like me? I totally empathize with Midoriya on that one.**

 **Thank you for your continued support!**


	5. Chapter 5

**It's Friday, the weekend, hooray!**

 **I think this goes through Chapter 125 or so. Read that manga if you haven't! It's worth it!**

 **Also, thanks for stopping by my story. Please consider leaving a comment or a follow if you're interested. Let me know how things are going on your end!**

 **~Enjoy~**

* * *

Midoriya's mind was racing as the cool night air bit at his skin. Bakugo had made him walk all the way to Ground Beta, the site of their first hero exercise. The very place that Midoriya had teamed up with Uraraka and beat Bakugo and Iida. Bakugo was cold and straightforward when he asked Midoriya his _question_ , but words still shocked him.

"You got that power from All Might, didn't you?" Bakugo growled. There it was… that damn question. The words barely registered inside Midoriya's head. He knew he couldn't lie, and even if he was comfortable with lying, he would never be able to hide it from Bakugo. He'd known him since they were kids. Bakugo could read him like a book.

 _This is my punishment, then,_ Midoriya thought to himself, _this is my punishment for revealing the secret back then. Idiot._

Bakugo continued to talk, explaining his logic, but Midoriya couldn't understand a thing that he was saying. The words were foreign to him, like another language. Midoriya wasn't sure what he could possibly do to appease Bakugo, and he especially didn't know what to do now that the explosive boy was staring at him blankly.

"How would the truth help you?" Midoriya challenged, deciding that it was no use to try and hide it.

"I need to understand what's so special about you," Bakugo spilled, and for a moment Midoriya thought that he might have looked a little sad. "What's so special about you, you _fucking asshole_ , that All Might would go that far for you?"

It was a fair question, Midoriya conceded in his mind. At times, he didn't even understand what All Might was thinking. If he was being completely honest, when he wasn't absolutely star-struck by being chosen by _literally the greatest hero of all time,_ he often wondered what must be actually, deeply wrong with All Might to have chosen him. And, thus, the intense pressure to be the greatest hero and live up to the unreasonable ideal of becoming the next Symbol of Peace was born, and it rested on his shoulders every single day.

"You're going to fight me!" Bakugo shouted, holding up his fists. "Right here, and right now!"

"W-what," Midoriya choked, "Why?"

"If All Might thought you, a loser, were so great," Bakugo hissed as he stretched his arms, "did that mean that I was wrong all along? Not even worth being looked at?"

"K-Kacchan," Midoriya whimpered, trying to console him.

"If you don't put your arms up," Bakugo warned, "you'll get hurt."

Midoriya opened his mouth to protest, but Bakugo was already upon him, launching towards him with his right fist. _No,_ Midoriya corrected, _the right is a feint… I've got to dodge!_ He felt the crackle of Bakugo's explosions tickle at his skin as Full Cowl enveloped his body. He managed to dodge the full force of the attack, but still took some damage from Bakugo's hit.

"Kacchan," Midoriya called out angrily, "are we really going to do this?"

Bakugo rushed towards him again, launching a flurry of explosions that Midoriya barely managed to dodge. "It doesn't mean you weren't being looked at," Midoriya screamed. "No one is saying that!"

His words fell on deaf ears. Bakugo immediately turned around and initiated another string of explosions. They grazed Midoriya's skin and he flinched as he dodged and rushed out of Bakugo's grip.

"I said wait!" Midoriya cried, narrowly avoiding Bakugo's attacks.

But, suddenly, they were kids again. "Wait," Midoriya called after Bakugo as he walked away with his new friends. "Wait," he said after Bakugo pushed him down. "Wait," he cried after Bakugo made fun of him viciously in front of those cool, new friends. They were always together. Midoriya was always tagging along after Bakugo hurt him. Always trying to pick him up after he fell, despite the same courtesy never being returned.

Midoriya felt the sizzle of One for All creep up his legs, the hot, pumping rush of anger coursing through his veins. Bakugo fired an explosion into him, and he took it, letting the damage fuel his flames. Bakugo reached for his arm, ready to launch another explosion, when Midoriya fell backwards, catching himself on his hands and launching a kick into Bakugo's midsection.

Bakugo coughed and flew back from Midoriya, and for a moment the anger subsided. He was the same Bakugo who fell into the river on that day when they were just kids. The same Bakugo who needed his help. "Hey," he called softly, walking over to the boy with an outstretched hand, "are you all -"

"Don't fucking worry about me," Bakugo screamed, standing up slowly. "Why wont you fucking fight me? What the hell is your problem?"

"How did I end up chasing the back of the shit-head who was always scrapping up for my leftovers?" Bakugo growled. "You, a shitty fucking weakling, being recognized by All Might, even though _I've been getting stronger, too._ "

"Why," the words tore themselves from Bakugo's throat, "why did I become the reason for the end of All Might?" Tears spilled from Bakugo's eyes as he wrestled with himself.

"If I had been stronger," he choked, "if I hadn't been captured… then All Might would still be here. And, I've been trying not to think about it, but I can't hold it in." Bakugo clenched his teeth and charged Midoriya again, his hands primed for another round of explosions.

But, it didn't matter to Midoriya. In fact, for a moment, everything was blank. Charging toward him, with tears in his eyes, was Kacchan, and it was the same Kacchan from when they were kids. It was the Kacchan who was falling all alone in the river. It was the Kacchan who needed his help. _It's been bothering him,_ Midoriya thought, _and I'm the only one he can talk to. I'm the only one who can hear his pain._

Bakugo reached him, but Midoriya launched a One-For-All enhanced kick into him, knocking him back away again. "If we're to fight," Midoriya explained, "let's go all out. I have no intention of being your punching bag this time," Midoriya knew it was selfish, but he had something to prove, too.

 _This whole time,_ Midoriya thought to himself, _not once have we talked about our feelings. Not once have we talked everything out._ Midoriya attempted to dodge as Bakugo continually attacked him, launching larger and larger explosions. Normally, he'd predict the movement of his attacker, but Bakugo was too quick. Bakugo had gotten stronger.

"You're always looking down on me with those damned eyes," Bakugo snarled, "even though you were a quirkless idiot! You always thought so much less of me!"

"You really thought that about me?" Midoriya called back, standing up and gathering his strength.

"I guess," Midoriya conceded, "if someone were to constantly abused and berated, I would think they were crazy for sticking around that person, too," Midoriya felt One For All surge through his body again, the heat of it enveloping his joints, "but, you were so talented, _so amazing,_ that it was blinding to me." Midoriya felt One For All's power increase, and for a moment it took him off guard. He'd been able to manage and control up to five percent, but with his emotions rising, he'd unknowingly upped his level to eight percent. Over time his body had grown stronger, and although it was painful, eight percent was bearable.

"You, were someone who was dear to me!" He shouted, launching himself towards Bakugo, "Even more so than All Might!"

He felt an incredible speed as he flew towards Bakugo, and he saw Bakugo brace himself for the attack, rather than attempt to dodge. His own speed astonished him. "I've finally caught up to you!" He screamed, launching a full eight percent kick into Bakugo.

Bakugo absorbed the shock and immediately fired an explosion back, which Midoriya barely dodged. Midoriya quickly turned to launch another kick, but Bakugo caught him in his hands, firing another explosion into his exposed leg. Midoriya grit his teeth and turned, ready with his fists, "even though I've been using my legs," he called, "I never said I can't use my fists!"

Midoriya felt his punch impact Bakugo's face, but Bakugo pushed through the pain, and sent another explosion flying back at Midoriya, which he was unable to dodge. Bakugo quickly pushed him into the ground and pressed his hand to Midoriya's face, threating another explosion.

"I win," he sneered. _I knew you would,_ Midoriya thought to himself. _It's stupid, but, in my head… you've always been the picture of victory._

"Why did you lose?" Bakugo wasn't finished. He pushed his hand harder into Midoriya's face. "C'mon," he growled, "why did you lose?"

"That's enough," a voice called behind them and they both reeled to see All Might standing before them.

"I'm sorry, but, I eavesdropped on you two." All Might confessed and Bakugo rose from his position over Midoriya.

"And, I'm sorry that I've failed you."

"Why him?" Bakugo challenged.

"Because," All Might explained, "on that day, with the sludge villain, Midoriya was a greater hero than me. Even though he was quirkless, he acted. I decided that it was my duty to give him to the ability to join the fight that you had already been fighting in."

"But, I'm weak," Bakugo choked, "and because I'm weak… now you're like this!"

All Might softened and approached Bakugo. "This," he motioned to himself, "is not your fault." He pulled Bakugo gently towards him, hugging him softly, careful not to push too far. "This is a path that I'd long since been heading towards."

Bakugo pulled himself away harshly, crumbling to the ground. "Listen," All Might offered, "I've been a hero a long time."

"Both you, Young Midoriya, and you, Young Bakugo, are two sides of the same coin. All this time, Midoriya, you have admired Young Bakugo's fight to win."

"And you, Bakugo, have feared Young Midoriya's spirit." Bakugo clenched his fists at All Might's words.

"If you two, honestly, raise each other up," All Might explained, "there will be no stopping you. You can become the heroes who both have an undeniable strength and spirit, and, will, undoubtedly, become the best heroes."

"Midoriya can't possibly lose," Bakugo mumbled, "he's got the best person helping him out."

"Who all knows? About your relationship?" Bakugo asked.

"Among the students, only you," All Might noted.

"And you want it kept a secret," Bakugo acknowledged. "Don't worry, I won't go telling anyone like shit-head Deku."

Midoriya nodded and Bakugo turned to him. "Even though you're the chosen one," Bakugo jeered, "I'll surpass you!"

"Then, I'll surpass you!" Midoriya replied.

"That's what I just said, you dumbass!" Bakugo stormed. Midoriya prepared to respond when they were both suddenly wrapped tightly in Aizawa's bindings. Their teacher was fuming as he held them there, attempting to conceive a proper punishment in his mind.

All Might plead their case as he tried to take responsibility for the fight, but both Midoriya and Bakugo were too proud. Aizawa asked who threw the first punch and Bakugo immediately took credit, and Midoriya responded by saying that he hit back.

Aizawa seethed. He told them that while they would be allowed to stay at U.A., they would be condemned to house arrest for the following days where they would clean the dormitory common spaces all day. Bakugo received four days punishment and Midoriya received three. Additionally, unless their injuries were serious, they were prohibited from seeing Recovery Girl.

After receiving their punishment, Bakugo and Midoriya trudged back to the dormitories in absolute silence. When they reached their respective dorms they paused for a moment, both refusing to look at each other. "I will beat you, Deku," Bakugo growled at him, as he disappeared into his room.

 _And I'll do my best to beat you, Bakugo._ Midoriya thought to himself as he slowly opened the door. He had hoped not to wake Todoroki, but the boy was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at Midoriya.

Midoriya attempted a smile, but it felt insincere, so he dropped it quickly. "Hey, Todoroki," he said softly, "sorry to wake you."

"Do you need help?" Todoroki ignored his apology and motioned to the first aid kit that had become a staple in their room.

"Honestly," Midoriya struggled, "I can't feel most of my body." Midoriya took off his shirt and examined his arms. They were covered in cuts and scrapes, with burns also littering the surface of his skin. Todoroki simply nodded and moved over to him.

There was silence as they both worked to tend the injuries when Todoroki got to his right hand. Todoroki stopped and moved his fingers over Midoriya's crooked palm, covered in scars. Midoriya's face grew hot as he watched the boy tenderly trace the jagged lines.

"I-It's okay," Midoriya reassured, "I did that. I knew what I was doing."

Todoroki's mismatched eyes met his own green. "I still pushed you into it."

Midoriya felt the heat in his face intensify and he shifted his gaze away. "R-really," he whispered, "I was happy to… I wanted to be there for you." He looked back up to see that Todoroki had turned his own face away and silence fell upon them again.

"Midoriya," Todoroki broke the awkward silence that had set in. He had been extraordinarily silent during the rest of the time that he helped Midoriya patch his injuries, and now he was back in his own bed, laying still.

"Yeah?" Midoriya sat up from his bed to face Todoroki, worried about what he might say.

"Do you think… do you think that Shiketsu kid from the exam was right? Yoarashi? He said… he compared me to Endeavor. Am I just like him… my dad?" Todoroki looked away from Midoriya quickly, turning his face to gaze at his left palm.

"Um," Midoriya hesitated, trying to make the words sound right in his head. This was it. Todoroki was being vulnerable again. "In a way, I think he had a point," Midoriya hesitantly glanced towards Todoroki. Based on his body language, he had clearly given the wrong answer.

Midoriya quickly raised his hands up, trying to revoke his statement, but Todoroki wasn't looking at him. "I mean, I don't think you would ever intentionally try to hurt someone. Instead, I think that maybe you just aren't comfortable interacting with people, and with that being the case I think it's incredibly easy for you to give the wrong impression. For example, many are familiar with Endeavor, so when they meet you –"

Todoroki raised a hand to quiet Midoriya. "Slow down, please... you're rambling." His tone was weak, but sincere. To Midoriya, he didn't seem mad at him. He just seemed sad, and Midoriya was really starting to hate how often Todoroki was sad.

Midoriya closed his mouth and thought, trying not to start rambling again. He wasn't sure exactly how to communicate all the thoughts spinning in his head in a way that could possibly reassure Todoroki. "I know that sometimes the people we need in our life turn out to hurt us," he began softly, turning away from Todoroki and closing his eyes. "But, I don't think that makes them bad people."

"Since I've started training to become a hero," Midoriya paused, scrambling for the right words to say, "I-I… I don't think that I believe in evil anymore… or at least not in the same way." Midoriya didn't have the courage to look toward Todoroki, but he heard him shift from his spot on the bed.

"Of course, there are villains. And there are people who should be locked away from society," Midoriya ceded, "but I don't think people are born with the desire to hurt others. I don't think people are irredeemable." His thoughts shifted to Bakugo, and how Bakugo had sobbed before him only hours earlier.

"And I think that, when one of these toxic people… people who have their own issues that they're trying to understand," Midoriya paused, trying to compose himself and stop the tears forming in his eyes, "I think that when those people are close to us is when they can hurt us the most." Thoughts of Bakugo immediately flooded his mind again. Deep down, he didn't actually think that Bakugo hated him anymore. Maybe Todoroki was like Bakugo, as in, maybe, Todoroki didn't know how to deal with his own feelings, either.

"I think that it's really easy to see toxic people in our lives as villains. I think that it's hard to accept that they might be people too, and they might be people who make mistakes… who hurt people they care about. For whatever it's worth, I don't think your dad wanted his life to turn out this way, and I think that now that All Might's number one status is gone he might start to see things more clearly." Midoriya felt himself starting to talk into circles. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts.

"I think Endeavor became so tied up in himself that he forgot to look outwards. I think he forgot about the consequences his actions have on others and I think that he lost his perspective." Midoriya clenched his fists, now holding back the tears that formed and threatened to spill onto his face.

"Sometimes, I think that's what it is with you, too. I think that you're so hard on yourself and that you've wrapped yourself up in your hatred for your father. You've worn it like armor… and I think that you don't look outward. You don't let anyone in, Todoroki." Midoriya took a moment to wipe his teary eyes with the back of his fist.

"So, no, I don't really think you're like Endeavor. I don't think you're a bully. I don't think you hurt people, and I don't think that you use people for your own personal gain," Midoriya paused, gathering up the courage to look at Todoroki. "But I do think that you shut people out, and I think that it comes off as standoffish. I want to be your friend, Todoroki. I want to be on the same side." Midoriya paused, took a deep breath and composed himself.

"It's not selfish to shut out toxic people in your life. It's not selfish to want to live your life for yourself," Midoriya made a point to really look in Todoroki's eyes, expecting to see him angry, but there wasn't any anger behind his expression. _"You are your own person, Todoroki."_

Instead, Todoroki just looked shocked. His heterochromatic eyes stared back at Midoriya's own emerald, and his mouth parted ever so slightly, but he didn't say anything. Silence began to drip into the room like a thick, heavy syrup and Midoriya started to gather the sheets between his fists, fidgeting uncomfortably. He started to feel foolish. Even though Todoroki didn't know it, Midoriya had read his journal. He knew the horrors Endeavor had put his son through and it had been nothing like his peaceful upbringing. How could he speak so confidently on Todoroki's issues? He felt naïve and stupid.

"I want to be your friend," Todoroki finally spoke, and Midoriya felt his chest tighten, "…too." Todoroki went silent again, staring at his two hands in his lap.

"You're right." Todoroki added and Midoriya couldn't help his eyes from widening. "I've held on to this hatred for my dad since I was five years old. It's become so much a part of me that I was worried that underneath it there wasn't anything else." Midoriya watched as Todoroki shifted uncomfortably in his bed, wrestling with his thoughts. "Sometimes, I'm afraid I don't even know who I am."

"I didn't have a normal childhood. My siblings are still strangers to me. I don't know how to act around others and as a result I push them away." Todoroki sighed, "I want to be a hero like All Might, too, Midoriya. I want to be someone people look towards as a hero. I don't want to be the brash hero that my dad is."

"I think," Todoroki started, looking towards Midoriya again, "I think that I'm going to try to forgive my dad in some way. I don't know if I will be able to, but, at the very least, I want to let go of my hatred. I want to try making friends here at U.A., and I would like to try to live for myself… and for my mom. I want to make her proud." Midoriya was choking back sobs now. Todoroki had been suffering this whole time, wanting to engage, but not knowing how. He wanted to have friends and Midoriya didn't see that. He just saw Todoroki, always alone.

Before he knew what his body was doing, Midoriya was standing up, walking over to Todoroki's side of the room. He wrapped his arms around Todoroki's shoulders, pulling him into an awkward kind of hug, just the way that he had seen All Might tenderly hold Bakugo only hours before. "I'm sorry," he sobbed, "I'm so sorry."

This time though, Todoroki didn't tense up and pull away like Bakugo had from All Might when Midoriya touched him. Instead, he raised his left hand and placed it gently on Midoriya's forearm. Midoriya noticed that the touch was warm, radiating heat through his muscles. "Why are you sorry?" He asked quietly.

"I've been a bad friend," Midoriya cried, "I should have noticed, and I should have tried to include you more."

Midoriya couldn't see it, but he swore that Todoroki smiled as he felt the boy lean his head into his chest. "You've been a better friend than I could ever ask for, Midoriya."

* * *

 **So, I have kind of spoiled this story with updates. It's only been up for a week and we're already approaching 5 chapters and 20k words. Due to my schedule this coming week, I don't know if I'll be able to update until next Friday. Cross your fingers!**


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